What does being a Christian organisation mean?

At World Vision, our Christian faith is central to who we are. It defines who we are as an organisation by being an active, visible, tangible expression of God’s love to the poor and oppressed, regardless of their religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

But what does that really mean day-to-day for how World Vision works? If faith is our motivation to serve the poor, how does it impact where we work and the way we empower children and communities?

If you’ve asked these questions before or even had them asked of you, here are four important things you should know.

2. We work with children and communities based on their need, not their faith

The primary focus of our work is addressing the immediate and long-term development needs of children and their communities, particularly the most vulnerable. We respond to these needs, no matter what the beliefs of a community or of individual community members, and we’re committed to working with all different people to achieve transformation. We believe we would not be honouring Jesus if we didn't help all people, regardless of their religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

While some child sponsorship agencies work only in nations with Christian majorities, World Vision serves the poor in communities of all faiths. We are a signatory to a number of international agreements that forbid us from excluding anyone from receiving humanitarian aid, regardless of their race, creed or nationality and without adverse distinction of any kind. Aid priorities are calculated on the basis of need alone. So while our faith motivates us, our actions are for all – not just other Christians.

4. We partner with other faith-based organisations to boost our impact

Faith plays a vital role in our world. More than 85 per cent of the world's religious and faith leaders have a position of trust and influence in many places. That’s why faith-based organisations are important partners in our work. Our goal is to empower children and communities to break free from poverty for good, and we know we cannot achieve our mission on our own. So we collaborate with a wide range of partners, supporters and others – including people of all faiths and people without any faith – to transform the lives of children, families and communities.

We partner with local churches in appropriate contexts, who help World Vision staff to understand the community and its needs and provide staff and volunteers. We help local churches to strengthen local leadership and equip them with resources and training to carry out our shared mission among the poor and oppressed so that when we leave the community, they are able to continue supporting the community’s transformation for generations to come.

We also work with leaders of other faiths in the communities where we work. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have partnered with Muslim leaders to share important preventative messages in their faith communities. We also equip faith leaders to be a voice for children in the communities were we work. Research in Senegal found that 97% of faith leaders we trained said that, in the past year, they’d actively worked on child-protection issues in their communities – preaching or leading discussions on essential issues like child marriage, birth registration, education, and child health and hygiene.

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